Women's Basketball Cruises Past Towson to Seal No. 2 Seed, 74-33

Wednesday, March 2

Towson, Md.

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

17-12, 13-5CAA

Towson

6-23, 3-15CAA

Drexel

Towson

Photo by: Ryan Samson

Women's Basketball Cruises Past Towson to Seal No. 2 Seed, 74-33

3/2/2016 9:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. – Needing a victory to ensure themselves the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, the Drexel women's basketball team left no doubt on Wednesday as the Dragons dominated the host Towson Tigers, 74-33. At one point, the Dragons held Towson to just one field goal over nearly 17 minutes as they assumed complete control in a game they led the entire distance.

Drexel (17-12, 13-5) ensured itself the second seed in the CAA Tournament for a second-consecutive season. The Dragons will open their tournament run on Thursday, Mar. 10 at 5:00 p.m., facing the winner of the previous day's game pitting the Nos. 7 and 10 seeds against each other. That matchup is yet to be determined.

All 11 Dragons who suited up for Wednesday's game scored in a balanced and potent offensive attack. Sarah Curran led the way with 13 points. Meghan Creighton added 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from long distance. She added six rebounds and two assists, moving into sole possession of second place on Drexel's all-time list with 418 career helpers. Alexis Smith scored 11, with Jessica Pellechio adding nine points. Jackie Schluth finished with seven points, six rebounds, a career-high four assists and two blocks. Carrie Alexander pulled down a personal-high nine rebounds to go along with six points.

Eline Maesschalck scored the first five points of her Drexel career, going 2-for-2 from the floor including a three-pointer. She added an assist and a block. Sara Woods chipped in four points and Rachel Pearson added three, as did Tereza Kracikova. The freshman from the Czech Republic also had four rebounds and a pair of blocks. Kelsi Lidge added a point to round out the evening for the Dragons.

Drexel nearly set a pair of program records with the victory. The Dragons led 74-30 until a three-pointer from Towson's AJ Timbers rattled in with just over 30 seconds remaining. Had it bounced out, the Dragons were in line to break the record for the largest margin of victory in a conference game in program history, set earlier this season with a 74-31 win over Elon. They also would have tied the mark for fewest points allowed in a game as they gave up 30 in a 59-30 win over Hofstra on Jan. 6, 2008. Those records remained safe, but the win was more than enough to accomplish Drexel's goals.

The Dragons never trailed in the game, which opened with Towson's Senior Night ceremony. Drexel led by as many as five in a first quarter that saw the teams combine for seven turnovers. Sarah Curran took advantage of a size mismatch in the post, scoring eight points in the opening frame as Drexel built its lead to 14-10 heading into the second quarter.

In that second quarter, Drexel's defense clamped down and its offense got going in earnest. After a Jessica Pellechio jumper started the quarter and pushed the Dragons' lead to six, Meghan Creighton buried a step-back three-pointer to make it a nine-point game. After a stop on the other end, Creighton fed Alexis Smith for a three-pointer from the right wing, building the lead to 12 and forcing Towson to use a timeout.

The stoppage did not slow the Dragons, who scored the next seven points to make it a 17-0 run to open the second quarter. Towson finally got on the board in the period with 3:50 to play, a Brittany Tarr lay-up which would prove to be the Tigers' only field goal of the quarter. In fact, they would not get another field goal for more than 10 minutes of game time, until 3:42 remained in the third quarter.

Drexel outscored the Tigers 20-3 in the second quarter and took a 34-13 lead into the break. The Dragons did not slow down in the third quarter, hitting six of 12 from the floor for another 16 points. Curran added five more and Pellechio four in the third, with Drexel keeping Towson scoreless from the field for that 6:18 stretch to open the period. Eline Maesschalck took a pass from Pellechio and drove in from the left side, laying it in off the glass for her first collegiate points with 29 seconds to play in the quarter.

In all, Towson was just 3-for-24 (12.5 percent) from the floor in the second and third quarters, combined, as Drexel raced out to a 50-21 lead. It led by as many as 44 late in the fourth quarter before the Tigers avoided becoming part of Dragons history with the late three-pointer.

Drexel shot 54.0 percent from the floor on the evening (27-for-50), its highest percentage on the year. The Dragons hit nine of 22 from long range, and outrebounded the Tigers 37-27. Drexel turned the ball over an uncharacteristically high 16 times, but recovered defensively to limit Towson to just six points off turnovers. The Dragons, meanwhile, capitalized on Towson's 14 giveaways for 21 points of their own. Led by Smith's 11 points, the bench scored 30 for Drexel, its largest output of the season.

The Dragons will now enjoy an eight-day break before their next game, at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. as the CAA's second seed. Tickets for the tournament are now available by calling the Drexel box office at 1-866-4-DREXEL or by visiting DrexelTickets.com.